It was the third time in a week that the A’s relievers were the stars of the game. Last Thursday in Toronto, when Andrew Triggs had to leave the game due to injury with one out in the second inning, the bullpen pitched almost a full eight innings leading the A’s to victory. The next day — they did it again! — Brett Anderson had to leave the game (as usual) because of injury, after (again) 2.1 innings pitched, defeating the Blue Jays for the second straight day.
Those games were unplanned, however, today’s game was a conscious decision made by the team.